Hollywood casting director Carol Goldwasser, known for her extensive work with the Disney Channel, passed away at 67.
The Hollywood Reporter has shared that Carol Goldwasser died unexpectedly on December 5th in her Palm Springs home. Announced by her friend and manager Theodore Gekis, the successful casting director had just undergone a minor surgery.
Goldwasser has played a huge part in creating magic at the Disney Channel, having worked on shows like Hannah Montana, Austin & Ally, and Dog With a Blog. She also nurtured the talent of several young stars like Zac Efron. Her casting career in both Los Angeles and New York spanned more than two decades.
Goldwasser was born on August 3rd, 1957, in Freeport, New York. An excellent piano player and student, she graduated as salutatorian from East Meadows High School in 1975. She would go on to earn a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music performance and education, graduating from University of Buffalo summa cum laude. While she originally dreamed of being a music teacher, Goldwasser found her passion within the entertainment industry.
She began her career at Breakdown Services, but began her casting director journey as an assistant to Stuart Howard in New York City. With no job, Goldwasser headed out to Los Angeles in 1991, but quickly found herself as a casting associate for Fox’s Melrose Place and for the 1993 pilot of ABC’s My So-Called Life.
Then in 1994 to 1996, Goldwasser served as the manager of casting at Disney/Touchstone Television where she supervised all casting for their pilots, series and movies. She would then go on to serve as director of casting for Disney/Touchstone Television in New York from 1996 to 1998.
She would go on to cast with former partner Howard Meltzer for some of Disney Channel’s biggest shows, where she thrived as an independent casting director until her 2019 retirement.
In addition to her work with Disney, Goldwasser was also heavily involved with other networks. Former Executive VP of Casting at NBC Marc Hirschfeld shared “Carol was a wonderfully talented casting director and a delight to be in the same room with. Always positive, enthusiastic and with an annoyingly sunny disposition. The world will be a little less sunny without her.”
Goldwasser was also a chairperson for the diversity committee for the Casting Society of America, 11 nominations and two wins for CSA Artios Awards and a nomination for casting director of the year from the Heller Awards.
Goldwasser is survived by her sister, Diana; her brother-in-law, Philip; and her pet cat, Nala. A celebration of life will be held sometime in January.
In a statement by her friend Ann Maney, she shared “After Carol’s long and successful career in casting, I was excited for her to forge a new path and find deep happiness in her retirement. She was thriving. I will miss my dear friend. Goodbye, Doll!”